1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to oxygen adminstering devices, and more particularly, is concerned with a device which administers oxygen to infants while nursing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since the advent of positive pressure ventilation in the late 1960's, the mortality of those infants which require assisted ventilation has decreased drastically to the present day. However, this type of therapy is not without its hazards and complications, one of the major ones being damage to the tiny alveoli, reducing the number of functioning cells and requiring that the infants remain on oxygen therapy for long periods of time. In some cases, even years may be required to outgrow this need for supplemental oxygen. This need for oxygen necessitates that the infants be placed in incubators, or that oxygen hoods be placed around their heads, isolating them from the normal methods of infant feeding. An inability to hold and nurse the baby subverts an integral part of the parent-child bonding process.
It is well known that oxygen usage increases with the increased work of nursing, and that infants with low oxygen saturation cannot nurse adequately. Meeting this need for supplemental oxygen while being held and bottle or breast fed is awkward at best, with, for bottle feeding, three hands being needed to cradle baby, hold bottle and direct an oxygen tube at the infants nose with a certain degree of accuracy necessary to insure that the infant is indeed breathing oxygen enriched mixtures of air. Otherwise, the infant can decompensate rapidly, causing the feeding to be terminated and the infant unnecessary stress.
Oxygen cannulas, such as those used on adults, are unsatisfactory for infants, as all infants are obligate nose breathers up to three to six months of age. An oxygen cannula placed in the infant's nostrils will transmit distending pressure to the lungs. When a nipple is placed in the infant's mouth, this further complicates the matter by causing the infant to have greater difficulty exhaling. Large amounts of swallowed air creates over-distention of the stomach, causing discomfort and possible regurgitation. In addition, pressure that is transmitted to the lung can cause possible lung rupture.
A smooth, constant flow of oxygen, directed in front of the infant's nose, is the ideal and safest way to administer oxygen while the infant is nursing. It is the object of this invention to provide a device to make oxygen administration while nursing a simple and safe procedure.